Whether, in light of the fact that Saturday 21 May 2022 marked 100 days since his State of the Nation Address on 10 February 2022, wherein he promised to finalise a social compact to create jobs, build the economy and fight hunger, the social compact has been finalised; if not, what (a) progress has been made and (b) is the reason for the delay; if so, (i) what (aa) is the exact nature of the social compact, (bb) impact does he expect it to produce, (ii)(aa)which persons and/or organisations have been consulted and (bb) on what date(s) were they consulted and (iii) who has been leading the negotiations for the social compact?
As I indicated in my address during the Presidency Budget Vote, we are working in earnest to conclude our negotiations on a social compact.
The engagements are taking place within the context of NEDLAC, which is a statutory forum for social dialogue.
We set ourselves the ambitious target of 100 working days to signal the urgency with which we need to find common ground ...
Whether the Coronavirus Command Council has been disbanded now that the State of Disaster has ended; if not, what is the (a) purpose of the continued existence of the specified Council and (b) legal basis is relied upon for its continued existence in the period after the State of Disaster; if so, on what date was the council officially disbanded?
The National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC) was established as a committee of Cabinet by the Cabinet in its meeting of 15 March 2020 to coordinate government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. The NCCC makes recommendations to Cabinet on measures necessary to manage the pandemic.
The NCCC continues to perform this function since, although the national state of disaster has been lifted, the COVID-19 pandemic ...
With reference to his address to the nation on Monday, 18 April 2022, following the devastating floods of April 2022, wherein he announced a national state of disaster and the fact that the primary responsibility to co-ordinate and manage the disaster is assigned to the national sphere of government and committed to a three-phase response, namely, immediate humanitarian relief, stabilisation and recovery, and reconstruction and rebuilding, (a) what are the details of the implementation plan for the first two phases, (b) who has he assigned to lead each of the first two phases and (c) how will the public be updated on progress of the first two phases?
Phase 1 on provision of immediate humanitarian relief focuses on addressing the immediate needs within affected communities. This includes search, rescue and recovery operations, burial assistance, death certificates, post-mortems, health services, psychosocial support, temporary shelter, food, personal essentials and emergency water supply.
Phase 2 on stabilisation and recovery interventions focuses on short term measures to repair and rebuild public infrastructure and facilities. This includes ...
Whether he intends signing a proclamation to direct the Special Investigating Unit to launch an investigation into the alleged R480 million that was spent purchasing municipal cars, which were unused for four years, in the Rustenburg Local Municipality; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?
No motivation for a proclamation has been submitted to the Presidency by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU). The SIU has indicated that it has not received any allegations on this matter, and will follow-up with the Municipality for details and to assess if the allegations fall within its mandate.
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With reference to his repeated claims that the National Coronavirus Command Council is guided by the science when it takes decisions, on what (a) grounds did the Council ignore the advisory issued by the Ministerial Advisory Committee (i) on 21 July 2021 that all primary schools in the Republic should open at full capacity, as it found that the harms of rotational schooling would outweigh the benefits, until around 7 February 2022, (ii) on 8 February 2022 that the (aa) Government should remove the requirements for cross border travellers to undergo SARS-CoV-2 tests and (bb) requirement to wear masks outdoors be scrapped, until around 22 March 2022, given that both would have brought significant relief to the tourism industry and (iii) on 16 February 2022 that the restrictions placed on outdoor and indoor gatherings be lifted, including the 50% capacity and minimum physical distancing regulations, which would have brought significant relief to the events and entertainment industries, especially nightclubs and (b) scientific grounds are nightclubs still not allowed to operate?
The role of the COVID-19 Ministerial Advisory Committee (MAC) is to advise the Minister of Health with regards to managing cases of COVID-19 in the health system, interventions to control the spread of the disease, communication strategies, the research agenda and the economic impact on the health system.
The MAC develops advisories on specific issues in response to requests from the Minister for guidance ...
Whether his Government is committed to an evidence-based policymaking approach as envisioned by the National Policy Development Framework; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details?
At the beginning of the Sixth Administration, on the occasion of the Budget Vote of the Presidency 2019/20, I said that public policy that must be evidence-based and effectively coordinated.
The Presidency established a Public Sector Policy Development and Research Network in March 2020 as a platform to capacitate policy practitioners on the use of evidence in policy making. This network is represented by ...
What factors (a) did he take into account in his decision to appoint Justice Raymond Zondo as the new Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court and (b) led him to ignore the recommendation of the Judicial Service Commission to appoint the Judge President of the Supreme Court of Appeal, Justice Mandisa Maya?
The Constitution sets out the role of the Chief Justice. Section 165(6) indicates that the Chief Justice is the head of the judiciary and exercises responsibility over the establishment and monitoring of norms and standards for the exercise of the judicial functions of all courts. He or she also heads the Constitutional Court, our apex court.
Section 174(1) of the Constitution requires that persons ...
(1) With reference to his undertaking on 29 May 2019 to sign performance agreements with each Minister and Deputy Minister, and his reiteration during his State of the Nation Address on 14 February 2020 that the performance agreements would still be signed, (a) on what date did (i) he and (ii) each relevant Minister and Deputy Minister sign the respective performance agreements and (b) what are the reasons that it took so long after his initial undertaking in May 2019 to sign the performance agreements;
(2) (a) on what date(s) was the performance of each Minister and Deputy Minister evaluated against the targets set in the performance agreements, (b) what are the details of the outcomes of each evaluation and (c) what action has he taken against any Minister or Deputy Minister who was found to have failed to meet a performance target;
(3) whether he has found that the implementation of the performance agreements has strengthened the capacity of the State and increased accountability, as was his aim in February 2020; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the (a) relevant details and (b) details of the evidence he has relied on in this regard? NW1596E
The President has signed performance agreements with Ministers and Deputy Ministers to assist in the fulfilment of Section 91(2) of the Constitution, which states: “The President appoints the Deputy President and Ministers, assigns their powers and functions, and may dismiss them.”
The performance agreements provide clear guidance to Ministers and Deputy Ministers on their responsibilities and performance indicators. This enables the President to more ...
Whether, in view of transparent governance, a copy of the agreements signed between the President of the Republic, Mr M C Ramaphosa, and COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers, can be made available to Members of Parliament and the public at large; if not, why not; if so, can Rev K R J Meshoe be furnished with a copy of the agreements?
The President of the Republic has not entered into any agreements with any vaccine manufacturers. Such agreements are entered into by the relevant line department.
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What will be the (a) terms of reference and (b) mandate of the newly established red-tape reduction team led by Mr Sipho Nkosi?
The Red Tape Reduction Team (RTRT) has a mandate to identify priority reforms and work with other departments and agencies to simplify regulatory processes and unblock specific obstacles to investment and business growth. This is aligned to government’s commitment in the Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan to “reduc[e] the cost of doing business…[through] regulatory changes that seek to optimise the regulatory environment”.
This includes ...
